Artist Statement

My work revolves around the southern landscape. Imagery from nature is combined with an extreme color palette to make an “invented landscape”. I want the viewer to reflect on the relationship of the vast horizons, plain, and skies to evoke a quiet serenity and to create an emotional reaction. Many of my themes reflect the Taoist concept of solitude and reflection as the source of healing the soul. My work generally begins from photos but I then introduce much looser forms that come from the imagination and are inspired by natural forms. When the scene is strictly from my imagination it translates my subconscious love for the southern landscape

I try to translate that wonder into an ephemeral landscape that will engage the imagination and invite the viewer to see life with the “inner eye.”

I have had the opportunity to live in many regions of the United States. The scenes are from my experiences and travels around the United States and abroad. I work to constantly evaluate and learn the characteristics of the mediums and push the limits at both ends. Inspiration comes from experiences and changes within me as they mirror the transformation of nature and the geography around me. A deepened exploration of the landscape as subject matter challenges me to make some sense of the beauty of the earth. I express the life energy of the landscape with gestured application of the medium. This freedom is juxtaposed against areas of intricate, detailed passages. An atmospheric light quality created with earth tones and high contrast gives the paintings a glow that reflects the promise that exists in the cycle of nature.

With each series I continue to expand my frame of reference and comment on the significant changes in the world. The abstracts are also an interpretation of the landscape using degrees of color, form and texture to serve as ancillary to the theme to reveal my relationship to the place. The place I am addressing is a place that only exists in the painting itself. I want to reproduce the energy and space of the natural environment, representing, rather than painting an exact landscape, and pull out details that I find compelling. Sometimes the landscape is cleared out and barely anything is left and sometimes the space is dense with detail.